Andy Acton takes a closer look at the dental practice market since COVID hit and looks forward to see what it will look like in 2021.
2020 was a year like no other and that will be etched in our memories forever.
Remarkably the dental sales market was broadly unaffected and goodwill values have held up well due to the increased demand for dental practices. Deals completed in Q3 and Q4 of 2020 with very few deals aborting due to the pandemic.
For many the driver to sell their dental practice is based on a life decision and Covid didn’t materially impact on this decision. This was matched by an increased demand from buyers. The lack of central Government support for associates has spurred hundreds more dentists to register with us. The key driver is for associates to secure their long-term future through practice ownership.
The current demand for dental practices means that in excess of 97% of our practice valuations achieve the asking price or higher. Associates, in ever-increasing numbers, are looking to practice ownership to secure their long-term future.
It is also heartening to see the banks still actively supporting the dental profession. Funding is still readily available for acquiring dental practices and bank appointed valuers are supporting the goodwill values calculated by Frank Taylor & Associates. Dentistry has long been a green light sector for the banking profession and in the current economic climate it will continue to be so as healthcare is a lower quartile risk profile sector.
Changing behaviour, driven by Covid, has also impacted on the demand for dental practices too. Whilst there has always been a huge demand for practices in large cities, there has been a noticeable increase in demand for regional practices. It is still early days, but this would fit with the changing behaviour of the wider population and purchasing habits changing with people buying more products and services locally.
As a company we are keeping very close to the changing trends in dentistry and are very well placed to adapt to provide you with the best advice available so that you can make an informed decision on the way forward.
